Moving on: Leeds United moving on from Huddersfield Town fracas, insists Garry Monk

Phil Hay

Garry Monk has sought to draw a line under the scuffle involving him and Huddersfield Town head coach David Wagner, insisting Leeds United had “moved on” from the fracas at the John Smith’s Stadium.

Monk and Wagner are facing touchline bans after being charged by the Football Association with improper conduct following the melee which marred Sunday’s West Yorkshire derby.

The two men have until 6pm on Friday to respond to the charges against them, with Monk facing one count of improper conduct and Wagner accused of two after the German ran onto the pitch to celebrate a 90th-minute winner from Huddersfield defender Michael Hefele.

Wagner’s reaction to the goal led to a confrontation with Monk, in turn provoking scuffling near the tunnel.

FACEBOOK | Like the Leeds United - YEP pageLeeds and Huddersfield are both accused of failing to control their players and staff and also have until tomorrow evening to submit a plea to the FA.

Monk spoke out after full-time to accuse Wagner of lacking “humility, respect and class” while Wagner, who apologised for sprinting onto the field, blamed Monk for starting the trouble by bodychecking him as he returned to his dug-out.

Garry Monk was sent off after the clash and faces a touchline ban from the FA (Photo: PA)

Speaking yesterday, Monk said: “I’ve spoken to the club and given my views. They’ll convey that to the FA and it’ll be dealt with.

“I’ve moved on and I’ve said what I needed to say to the club. I’m very focused on the football and the next game coming up.”

Monk declined to comment on how he would plead but United’s head coach claimed at the end of Sunday’s match that Leeds should not face any punishment over the brawl.

“I’ve given my views,” Monk said. “We’ll wait and see.”

Hefele’s last-minute winner condemned Monk’s side to a 2-1 defeat but United remain comfortably inside the Championship’s play-off zone ahead of back-to-back home games against Cardiff City on Saturday and Bristol City on Tuesday.

“I said after the game that it (the defeat) doesn’t change anything for us,” Monk said. “We’re very focused on the next game. Like always, we analyse what we could do better. We’ve been trying to make the improvements we know we need for the game coming up.

“We’re always disappointed if we lose but it’s important to understand that we’re in a very competitive league. You can’t win every game. Moving forward is important in this league because there’s always a game around the corner. We know what we did well and we know what we need to improve on.”